Heaven
by Aomine
Summary: They say that you only realize how much someone means to you until they're gone. But Aomine knew that he had Kuroko; he just didn't know that he'd lose him. / Boys Love - AoKuro. -DISCONTINUED-
1. The Illusion

**Heaven**

Small droplets of water with a strange and distinct smell fell from the clouded sky and onto the dry concrete pavement. The day was unknown as well as the time. But such measurements did not matter as they barely play a part in Aomine's life. Recently, he's lived life without caring much for the day and time which has raised concern in the other members of the Teikou Middle School Basketball team as well as from his classmates, teachers and his family. Day in and day out, the tanned teen has been stuck in an infinite loop of waking up, playing basketball and going to sleep. Classwork, lunch and duties were all blocked out from his mind as minimal communication slipped pass through his lips the past month.

Everyone knew the reason he fell into such state but no one could relate to him.

"Aominecchi's…" Kise began, sitting by the sideline bench of the first gym. He held a water bottle in his hand and sipped out from him; his eyes watching the first and second stringers of the basketball team, "He hasn't been coming to train with the rest of us lately. He's apparently gone back to the fourth auditorium."  
"Eh~? Really..?" Murisakibara replied; his long body sprawled out against the rest of the bench. Kise nodded, knowing full well that the taller male can't see.  
"It's been a month, now." Midorima commented, grabbing onto the ends of the towel that was draped around his neck. He stood near Murisakibara's head as the said teen and Kise turned to look at the Fate Follower.

"Has it really been a month that he's been…? Since that…" Kise started but could not dare to finish. Murisakibara sat up, allowing room for Midorima to sit as Akashi came by. He stood in front of the three with his arms crossed over his chest. He parted his lips to speak.  
"Where's Daiki?" He asked with no such hints of emotion across his composed face. The three members glanced at each other then back at their Captain.  
"He's probably at the fourth auditorium." Kise replied, cocking his head in the direction of the said gym. Akashi sighed.

"He's been going there for a month now. It's getting problematic." The Captain complained. The sitting teens did not know what he meant by that though, "We're going to have to do something." He announced, looking off to the direction that Aomine presumably would be.

天国

The moment his hand opened the large gym doors, the stuffy atmosphere surrounding him disappeared. Aomine smelt the distinct smell of the rain as the humid but cool air lowered his heated body. He stepped outside, a small outward shelter protecting him from the rain as he sat against the brick wall, towel over his head. His knees were bent upwards as his forearms leaned atop them. He closed his deep sea orbs and faced upwards. Aomine felt calm underneath the sound of the rain splashing against the warm pavement as all thoughts were drained from his mind. His body was tired out from all the training he's done. Even though it's hard to train by yourself in a lonesome gym, and the perks of training in the fourth auditorium were that there was no one around to boss him or scold him for trying just a _little_ too hard. He accepted that fact and thus continued going there. Besides, what was the point of having a fourth auditorium if no one's going to use it?

Aomine felt sleep overtake his system—rainy weather was the best weather to sleep in and he, like most, would do so. His eyelids, even if closed, felt heavy and his mind slowly began to shut down into sleep mode. But before he could do so, he felt a soft touch upon his shoulder, followed by a voice.

"Aomine-kun, even if it's hot, you shouldn't try to fall asleep in the rain. You'll catch a cold."

The tanned male turned his head in the direction of the voice he heard; the towel naturally slipping off. His eyes widened at the sight of a light blue hair and accompanying orbs.

"Tetsu…?" Aomine's voice cracked with confusion as the said male smiled just a bit, "What're you… What're you doing here?" he then asked. Kuroko took it upon himself to join Aomine; sitting with his bottom against the floor and his back against the brick wall. He looked straight out ahead at the empty quad, rain now coming down hard. His legs were crossed over each other as his hands rested on his lap.  
"I've heard that you haven't been practicing with the others. I just came to see what's up." Kuroko answered, looking straight ahead.

Aomine stayed silent. He wasn't sure what words could make up an appropriate reply. He did not want to leak his inner thoughts out to this male but then again, that might be the only choice he's got. That, or to just run away and avoid the Shadow but he couldn't bring himself to even do that.  
"So what is the matter, Aomine-kun?" Kuroko asked, turning his head to face Aomine. It seemed that the tanned male had also been looking straight ahead and it doesn't look like he was going to turn his head to face the Shadow either.

"Aomine-kun?"

"Why are you _here_, really?" Aomine glanced quickly at the Shadow but it did not go unnoticed by him. Rising to his feet, the tanned male brushed himself off before looking down at Kuroko with eyes that showed no emotion. Kuroko returned the look with a longing gaze, one that Aomine once grew accustomed to, but no longer remembered. It was a gaze he'd seen every day; a gaze of admiration. Kuroko looked up at the younger male before also stumbling up to his feet.

Suddenly, Kuroko extended his arms and constricted them around Aomine's built body, enveloping him into a strong embrace. Aomine was confused at this notion but showed no signs of rejecting it.

"Why are you doing this? Tell me, why are you here?" Aomine asked, finding himself slipping his arms around the smaller body; his chin atop Kuroko's head.  
"Can't I be here?" the Shadow asked, moving his head to look at the Ace. He saw an angst-filled expression—one that could break hearts. Kuroko tsked, pressing a palm against Aomine's cheek, all in which the tall teen unknowingly leant into; eyes closed as if savouring the warmth.  
"It's been a month since you've…" The tall teen started but his sentence trailed off with his hand hesitantly touching Kuroko's.  
"Since I've… left?" Kuroko finished, cocking his head to the side. Aomine's eyes fluttered open before his teeth gritted at the use of words.

Kuroko smiled a lonesome smile, withdrawing his hand away from Aomine's cheek. The tanned teen immediately missed the Shadow's touch but he bit his lower lip to prevent any signs of that from surfacing.

"It's not the end of the world, Aomine-kun. It's not like I've left _you_. I'll still be around. I promise." Kuroko informed, placing a hand on top of Aomine's shoulder. Aomine turned his head to look at the hand before looking back a Kuroko. But the said teen was no longer in front of him. It was as if he vanished; disappeared, _left_. Aomine took a confusing step forward with his fingertips against the cheek that Kuroko had just touched. What he felt was real, yet now before his eyes, Kuroko was wiped out from his sight. Gritting his teeth, he clenched his hand tightly before banging it against the concrete wall.

"Damn it, Tetsu..!" he muttered underneath his breath as he turned his back against the wall, pressing it against and sliding downwards. His hands ran through his hair in utter frustration at the current situations before he knocked his head back into the rough surface of the wall. The sound of the rain that once filled his ears soon began to calm into a light trickle before eventually coming to an indefinite halt. He could smell the rain on the pavement as the sun did not falter to show itself beyond those dark clouds.

He was so confused at what happened moments ago. He wasn't sure if Kuroko was right in front of him or if his mind was playing a cruel trick on him. It had been a month since Kuroko left as it had also been a month since Aomine's changed. He had accepted everything that's been done yet he couldn't help but transact into someone that no one knew. But now he's having a hard time accepting what's in his head and what's actually true. He feared not being able to differentiate between reality and fantasy ever since a month back and now the two worlds came in colliding in his mind in a never ending strife for his attention.

"Why did you have to _go?_"

黒子のバスケ©藤巻忠俊  
Kuroko No Basuke

**I need AoKuro back in my life. Thank you to all of those who have been reading my stories up until now. I really appreciate it. I hope you like my first story of the New Year. Please review! Let me know what you think. **


	2. The Uncertainty

**Heaven**

The confusing encounter that Aomine had with his former shadow played through his entire mind for the rest of that week. He had kept waiting for Kuroko to show up again outside the fourth auditorium after he had drunk his heart out in basketball at the exact same time for the next following days. But he did not show up. He knew that they did not make an appointment to meet up there but he still had hoped that the smaller figure would come. He _wished_ he would. Aomine could not forget the touch that Kuroko had enveloped him in to the point where it was stuck on infinite loop in his memories. It was engraved into his brain so harshly that he could not even notice Kuroko's presence outside his body. He could've passed the Shadow countless times through the hall or in between classes for all he knows but his conscience was in another galaxy as it has been the past month.

A new week had finally arrived which meant another week of a complicated Aomine. Aomine thought that his actions in his behaviour only affected him and him alone but he was wrong. He was still a part of the Teikou Middle School Basketball Team which caused great distress on his team mates. If he continues this streak of no-communication, no-emotion, then it's only a matter of time that people will start talking. Teikou had a reputation to uphold, being the strongest basketball school in the district as they were well known for having the Generation of Miracles and their bizarre approaches to basketball. But people will start to think otherwise once or if Aomine plays in matches.

He was not well known for teamwork and that was not much of a problem, but if it came down to team _play_, then one would think something's up. He had always played alongside Kuroko as their plays were well recognised in the basketball world. But up until recently, when _that_ happened, Aomine began to lose his touch. Sure, he could solo his plays for every single game, but somewhere in his heart, he still relied on his Shadow to be there. He knew it as well as everyone here. He was excelling faster than the rest of the prodigies that if he excelled _too_ fast, he wouldn't even need Kuroko. But he was not at that stage. He still needed the Shadow. And now that he's gone, Aomine simply could not revert back into someone that could play without him.

The day progressed rather slowly for Aomine. His classes dragged on longer than they should have as lunch seemed to have gone on for hours. But he eventually made it through those daunting hours and it was now that time of the day for him to attend basketball training. It was the only time of the day where he'd actually do something instead of spacing out with his mind elsewhere. People were still worried about him since he wasn't really _living_ but just _existing_. The Generation of Miracles also felt this worry to the point where they knew that they had to do something. Aomine couldn't and shouldn't live like he does. It's unhealthy plus it affects others.

"Where did I put it..?" Aomine sighed, asking that question out loud to himself. He referred to his basketball necessities such as a spare change of clothes, towels and drink bottle. He had been so out of it that he sometimes even forgot what he did the other day. He could've placed those wanted items in his locker which sort of disrupted his flow. Aomine thought of going straight to the fourth auditorium that day but he had to get his gear in the locker room that the first auditorium held. Sighing, after the final bell of the class rung, he headed straight to the said destination, just as Midorima arrived.

"Aomine," Midorima began as he shuffled through his bag for the auditorium's key, "Are you going to come and train with us today?" His voice sounded hopeful but he knew the answer that the tanned male would give. It was a no, as Aomine shook his head slightly. He then parted his lips.  
"I just came to get a couple of things from my locker." He informed as the Fate Follower retrieved the item he searched for.

With a simple nod as a reply, Midorima unlocked the auditorium's doors, swinging it open and letting Aomine head in first. Aomine bowed his head just barely in thanks before walking in. Midorima's lips press into a thin line as his eyebrows narrowed. He then let out a sigh as his eyes lost sight of Aomine since the said male went straight into the locker room. The Fate Follower did not trail the Ace immediately; instead he opened both of the doors of the auditorium before heading over to the control box to flip open the fan and lights.

Aomine was alone in the locker room—he probably had about a minute or two before other basketball players come in to retrieve their stuff and start training. He headed for his locker and then he just stood in front. He hadn't visited his locker in a while but he still felt hesitation to open it. Sighing, he looked down the row of lockers before his eyes drew to a particular one—Kuroko's one to be exact. Swallowing deeply, his legs transferred him towards the Shadow's locker and unlike before, he did not hesitate to open it. His eyes closed, imagining what would be inside; nicely hung clothes, neatly folded towels, his wrist sweatbands atop the towels and a drink bottle beside. As the locker opened to its fullest, Aomine's eyes fluttered open.

His heart sunk as the sight of shoved clothes, towels, old snacks and photos of someone he did not know were in it. It was not the locker that Kuroko would have but he was dead set sure that it was his. With his eye brows narrowing, he checked the lockers on either side—none of them resembled a locker that Kuroko would have. Sudden panic flushed his entire body as his movements became frantic. He began to open all of the lockers inside the room in search for the one he wanted to see. He knew that Kuroko's locker was here—he became a first stringer after Akashi approved of him and taught him his skill therefore he has been moved up to train in the first auditorium with the rest of the first stringers. So why wasn't his locker here anymore? Where was it?

As he continued to search, slamming all of the lockers open, he had obviously caused a lot of troubling sound. Midorima went in the locker room to inspect what was all the noise about before he saw the horrific scene before him beyond his glasses.

"Aomine…!" He began as the said male ran his hand through his hair in frustration, "What do you think you're doing?" Midorima asked with a strong voice.  
"Where is it?" Aomine replied desperately, looking over at the Fate Follower's direction. Midorima gave him a confused look.  
"Where's what?" He cautiously asked. Just then, Kise had entered the locker room.

"Oh? Is Aominecchi here to train with us…?" The blonde's voice trailed off as he saw all the lockers open, "What's going on here? Aominecchi, are you searching for something?" The Copy Cat asked, glancing at the Ace before at Midorima. Midorima returned Kise's look that had his eyebrow raised as if to signal something. Kise slightly nodded that went unnoticed by Aomine before turning to the said male to speak, "Aominecchi—"  
"Where is it?" Aomine asked yet again; his legs pacing back and forth the dishevelled rows of lockers.  
"What are you looking for?" Kise asked, slowly approaching the tanned male. Aomine glanced over at Kise which startled the blond.

"Where's Tetsu's locker?" He asked, clarifying his actions. Kise swallowed deeply as he felt Midorima's eyes on him.  
"Tetsu…?" Kise began in a voice that made it seem that he was asking a question.  
"You guys promised that you'd leave his locker alone!" Aomine's voice almost shouted as his eyes looked fearsome. Kise bit his lower lip, "Sure he's gone now, but what if he decides to come back? He'd need a locker to put all his stuff in so where… where is it?" He asked, taking a few steps forward. He placed his hands on top of Kise's shoulders, shaking the model slightly as he spoke his words with much sincerity.

"I get what you're saying," Kise began, averting his gaze over towards Midorima who held no expression, "But who's Tetsu?" He felt Aomine's hands loosen his grip on his shoulders which gave Kise an easy feeling to look over at the Ace.  
"Tetsu… Kuroko Tetsuya." Aomine said, "C'mon you guys know him!" Aomine urged, glancing at both Midorima and Kise simultaneously.

Kise slowly shook his head as he gave Aomine a confused look. The Ace's eyebrows twisted in pain as he looked at Midorima. But he too, shook his head.  
"I have never met anyone by the name of 'Kuroko Tetsuya'." Midorima then spoke with no traces that could indicate that he was lying. Aomine's shoulders slumped in disbelief that both Kise and Midorima did not know _his_ Shadow.

"You're joking, right? Right?" Aomine pressed on as he received blank faces from them both, "C'mon! Kuroko Tetsuya! He was around this tall," He measured Kuroko's approximate height with his hand near his chest, "He's got light blue hair and eyes… He's got a weak presence! He can misdirect the ball and he used to be a third stringer! And… and… He's my _Shadow_." His words began to dissolve into the atmosphere as Kise and Midorima continued to look as though they did not know who the person he was describing, which actually could be the case right now. His heart continued to sink as it did earlier as their faces showed no hope of knowing who he spoke of.

"Kise," Aomine airlessly spoke out with a saddened expression, "You used to always cling around him." He informed in which Kise continued to shake his head. He looked as though he genuinely did not know the memories Aomine was pushing onto him. The atmosphere soon darkened as Aomine felt as though Kuroko never really existed in the first place. That his _existence_ was just a figment of his imagination—a person created by himself so that he had someone who could play alongside him in his lonely road of pure excellence.

"He's real. He exists." Aomine began after a moment of silence, "He's played in matches. Last week we spoke..! He hugged me! I know it. I know he did. I didn't make anything up!" Aomine's voice rose louder and deeper with every word he spoke out—it almost sounded threatening. Both Midorima and Kise were alarmed as they did fear Aomine's current behaviour.

"Kise… I'm going to go get Akashi." Midorima retreated out of the locker room after Kise nodded, not daring to take his eyes off Aomine.  
"Aominecchi…" Kise sighed out, placing a hand on top of the Ace's shoulder in attempts to calm him down, "Are you—"  
"Akashi…!" Aomine spoke suddenly, "No, Akashi… He—he _definitely_ knows who Kuroko is! He discovered his talent—he _trained with him_."  
"Aominecchi," Kise's voice was a little louder a he placed another hand on the Ace's shoulder, "There's no one at this school by that name…!"

Aomine abruptly moved pass Kise's touch just as the Teikou Middle Schools' Basketball Captain entered the locker room with Midorima and Murisakibara following quietly behind.

"Akashi!" Aomine called out as he roughly grab a hold of Akashi's shoulders, ignoring Kise's previous statement as if it was never said in the first place. The Captain glanced at the tanned hands but decided to let this touch slide by, "You know Tetsu, right? Kuroko Tetsuya—you saw his potential and got him into the first string after he was just a third stringer! You remember him, yeah?"

His voice was as hopeful as his expression was as well. Akashi's eyes though showed no expression as they stared directly into Aomine's deep blues.  
"Daiki," Akashi's voice was as cold as his stare and that caused Aomine to release his hands, "This 'Kuroko Tetsuya' you speak of doesn't exist."

His words were like an arrow piercing Aomine's heart as the one person he had any hope in believing him spoke words he feared.

"He has never appeared in this school as there are no records of his attendance here at Teikou Middle School. We have never met him let alone did I ever teach him. He is an imaginary person you've created in that mind of yours and he will never become real as you pertain him to be. So snap out of it get and back to reality, Daiki. It's useless trying to convince us he exists when he clearly does _not_."

And with that, Akashi turned on his heel so that his back faced Aomine. He gave the rest of the Miracles a knowing look that they all knew. With that look, they left the locker room with Akashi following behind. But just as he was out of Aomine's sight, the red head stopped at the door. He did not turn to look at the tanned Ace but he did part his lips to speak.

"Feel free to come and practice with us _after_ you've cleared that delusional mind of yours."

The door then swung shut as Aomine was left alone once again in the locker room. He was devastated as Akashi's words replayed in his mind _perfectly_. He soon began to doubt Kuroko's existence but somewhere in his heart, he still believed that he was around. He knew that he existed; he knew that they've all met. After swallowing deeply, Aomine decided to skip training today. He left the first auditorium unnoticed as his legs carried him over to the school library in hopes to see Kuroko's picture in the year books.

"I _know_ that what I felt… What I've heard and saw was _real._" Aomine mumbled underneath his breath before he clenched his teeth in search of proof that Kuroko was involved in their lives.

黒子のバスケ © 藤巻 忠俊  
Kuroko No Basuke

**Alright, so Aomine might be a little OOC, but hey. If something or someone that you knew existed no longer existed to anyone else, wouldn't you be the same?**


End file.
